Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Mastering the Myriad Fragrances
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The Sword Demon, Cheong Jeong-mun.
The Cult Leader's first disciple. A supreme master known to have completely conquered the pinnacle of demonic arts.
Excluding the Cult Leader, who was the sky of the Divine Cult, he was the man who sat in the first seat of the main cult's hierarchy. As a supreme powerhouse, he was indisputably recognized by all as the next candidate for Cult Leader. With a faint smile, Mu-heun knelt on one knee and cupped his fist.
*Thud!*
“Greetings, Senior Brothers and Sister.”
“Hmph, so you've finally learned some manners.”
“My apologies. I will be more careful in the future.”
Though Mu-heun was only on one knee, his expression and words conveyed the utmost deference.
“Are we supposed to come looking for you?”
The fourth disciple, the Ice Demon Yeon A-ryeong, said bluntly.
“No. I should have come to see you first. I apologize.”
“Hey, why are you all being like that~ to a kid who just finished the Divine Dragon Assembly. Hehe.”
The Flame Demon, Cho Yeom-wi, joked playfully.
“Junior Brother, congratulations on winning the Divine Dragon Assembly~!”
“Th-thank you!”
“But, you know…”
Cho Yeom-wi’s friendly smile vanished in an instant, and an unprecedented aura of a fire demon enveloped Mu-heun.
*Fwoosh*
“Don't get cocky just because you beat some small fry, alright?”
Small fry, he meant the young successors of the Demonic Cult. The other participants who heard this stiffened, but they couldn't refute it.
Their opponent was the Cult Leader's fifth disciple, a master who had reached the pinnacle of demonic arts. While they might be strong within their own families, he was a heaven above heavens.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Mu-heun simply replied calmly.
“That’s enough.”
Then, a listless voice, as if bored by everything, was heard. It was the third disciple, the Blood Demon, Cheon Se-geuk.
“Yes! Senior Brother!”
*Ssssh*
The aura surrounding Mu-heun dissipated, and Cho Yeom-wi relaxed his expression.
“Haha! Just kidding! Just kidding! I watched your matches. They were excellent.”
“Thank you.”
“So, instead of just seeing each other's faces and leaving it at that, I was thinking of holding a small banquet to celebrate your victory and for us disciples to mingle a bit. It’s tomorrow night. You’ll come, right?”
“Of course.”
“Great, great. Let’s catch up then. You must be tired today, so go get some rest. I’ll send someone for you tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
Thus, the Heavenly Dance Family’s Fourth Young Master, Baek Mu-heun, was invited to the banquet as the sixth disciple.
“Senior Brothers and Sister, you’ll all be coming too, right?”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
After getting permission from his senior brothers as well, Cho Yeom-wi smiled at Mu-heun again and said.
“Alright~ See you then?”
“Understood.”
And so, the four disciples, from the Sword Demon Cheong Jeong-mun onward, departed.
Only one remained.
The second disciple, the Mad Demon, Wi Ryeon-gwang.
He approached Mu-heun with his eyes wide open.
His eyes were hollow, his pupils unnaturally large, and his expression was unreadable, making him somewhat eerie.
To be honest, he seemed a bit…
like a madman.
“You…”
The madman paused. What on earth was he going to say? Mu-heun was more tense than he had been all day.
“Heh, hehehehehehehe! Interesting.”
With that one remark, the Mad Demon also turned and left.
*‘That lunatic… What was that about?’*
After the storm had passed, no one dared to speak, as if crushed by their presence. Then, as if nothing had happened, Mu-heun showed the same smile as before and said.
“Well then! I’ll see you all next time!”
Mu-heun broke the icy atmosphere and bid farewell to the successors.
“Well then, see you next time!”
“Yes! Fourth Young Master!”
“We’ll see you next time!”
The successors also relaxed and returned the greeting.
And so, Mu-heun finished the Divine Dragon Assembly and returned to the Heavenly Dance Family.
At that moment.
*Grind*
Far away, the Red Demon Pavilion Lord, Hwang Cheol-ung, ground his teeth as he watched Mu-heun. He was barely suppressing his boiling rage.
However…
*‘I have no choice but to admit it. To deal with him for certain, I must use the Crimson Sky Blood Demonic Arts.’*
Hwang Cheol-ung turned to prepare the plan instructed by the Flame Demon and Ice Demon, followed by the Sword Demon Ghost Slaying Unit and the secret forces of each family.
And a flapping owl followed him, which in turn was followed by a Heavenly Demonic Corpse.
*‘Tomorrow night, is it….’*
Mu-heun just laughed lightly.
***
After returning to the Heavenly Dance Family, Mu-heun checked his eight extraordinary meridians and muscles. As one of the three great Divine Doctors of the Central Plains in his past life, he could diagnose his body more accurately than anyone and took the most appropriate measures to prepare for the next day.
“Alright, this should be enough.”
Just then, a servant came and said.
“Um, Young Master, you have visitors.”
Visitors?
“Yes, many visitors have come.”
Huh?
Unexpected guests had arrived.
These were the people who had taken my words—that they could visit anytime after the Divine Dragon Assembly—to heart so quickly. I should be more careful with my words from now on.
Ibaek of the Raging Tiger Family came, his body wrapped in bandages from the wounds inflicted by Seol Ha-ryeong.
“A pleasure to see you, Fourth Young Master. I came to greet Un-pyo.”
“Ah, yes…”
*‘This guy… he’s the type who gets attached after a fight.’*
Next, Seol Ha-ryeong of the Sacred Fire Palace also arrived, her body covered in bandages.
“I heard the Fourth Young Master is also skilled in healing, so I came. You can treat me, right?”
“Ah, yes…”
*‘Ugh, the nerve of her…’*
And U Mu-gyeong of the Law Palace approached boisterously.
“Fourth Young Master! Please fight me one more time!”
“Ah, I can’t…”
“Why not!?”
*‘What a headache…’*
Then there was one who appeared without a sound.
Gu Yang-baek of the Killing Palace.
“Kekek, I came to have a little chat with you.”
“Ah, yes…”
*‘This one, I'm curious about him too.’*
Finally, this person…
Wan Se-hwa of the Sacred Moon Demon Family, who had forfeited along with Gu Yang-baek in the middle of the tournament, had come.
“Hello, Fourth Young Master.”
“Ah, hello.”
“Why did you forfeit?”
“My targets were the Red Demon Pavilion bastards, but the Heavenly Dance Family took care of all of them, didn't they?”
“Aha…”
*‘Right, they said the great disciple of the Sacred Moon Demon Family Head, Mu-hwa, was killed by the Red Demon Pavilion Lord.’*
“First, please, everyone come inside.”
On this day.
In the residence of the Heavenly Dance Family’s Fourth Young Master, Baek Mu-heun, six of the seven top contenders from the Divine Dragon Assembly, excluding Ma Tae-pyeong of the Sword Demon Family, had gathered.
“This is a liquor called Baekhwaro, personally brewed by my father.”
Since everyone was not in peak condition due to the Divine Dragon Assembly,
I prepared Baekhwaro, said to be good for healing wounds,
and we shared a lively banquet.
The entire Heavenly Dance Family was in a festive mood, and the Heavenly Dance Family Head, Baek Gun-hak, and Mu-heun's brothers also celebrated joyfully.
***
-The next day, at dawn
I went out alone and calmed my breathing.
I drew a sealing formation on the ground with ink, and directly above it, I drew another formation in the air with incense. A Double Formation, constricting the space so that not a single wisp of air could escape.
I stood in the very center of the Double Formation, holding the Myriad Fragrance Blood Jade Tree.
*‘Now, I must master all the fragrances.’*
I brought the Blood Jade Tree to my mouth, opened it, and took a bite.
The juice of the Myriad Fragrance Blood Jade Tree entering my mouth spread rapidly through my body. The juice passed down my throat and into my stomach, but its fragrance was both absorbed by and passed through my body, slipping away here and there.
I focused my mind, gathering every last wisp of scent so as not to lose any. The black dragon in my dantian also emerged to gather the scents, and I inhaled the collected fragrances back through my nose.
Then I took another bite of the Myriad Fragrance Blood Jade Tree.
At times, it was the scent of a sea of corpses, where rivers of blood flowed and the stench of decay vibrated. At others, it was the smell of hell, where filth piled up and rotted, releasing a foul odor.
Then suddenly, the scent of apples arose, soon followed by pears, then peaches, as if tasting every sweet fruit under the heavens.
The cool scent of iron, the comforting scent of soil, the plain scent of water.
The warm scent of the sun announcing the morning, the scent of starlight and moonlight comforting the dark night, the scent of a cool breeze on a leisurely day.
I was smelling so many fragrances that I grew confused about where I was, about how the world was turning. I almost lost my mind in the dizzying symphony of scents, enough to make me forget the passage of time.
*‘There’s no need to rush. Let’s just take what I can.’*
The myriad fragrances drawn in through my nose soon entered my body, glowing with a rainbow light. My body emitted an iridescent light and levitated in the air. It felt as if all of creation had sublimated into fragrance, speaking of the principles and harmony of nature.
I slowly opened my eyes. The absorbed fragrances harmonized with the black dragon in my dantian. A dramatic harmony. Nature, which would turn to devouring itself at the slightest imbalance, settled calmly within my dantian.
*‘Success.’*
Then, something came to mind.
The yin energy I absorbed from my match with Seol Ha-ryeong… It was far too little compared to my demonic ki, creating an imbalance. But with the myriad fragrances, achieving harmony seemed possible.
Using the myriad fragrances settled in my dantian, I gradually converted some of the yang energy from my demonic ki into yin energy. The black dragon in my dantian became two, one possessing the energy of Yang, the other the energy of Yin.
Thus, the two dragons circled the innate true ki, achieving the harmony of yin and yang.
*‘Done.’*
The harmony of Yin and Yang.
The next step.
The Five Elements.
Five circles were drawn around the two dragons.
Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth.
The energies of the Five Elements formed into spheres and floated in my dantian.
*‘The important thing is balance.’*
Through extreme control, I stabilized the energies of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements in my dantian. Then, I drew the Sun and Moon Sword from my waist.
*‘Myriad Fragrance Formation, Yin-Yang and the Five Elements.’*
I then infused the myriad fragrances into the Sun and Moon Sword and engraved the schema of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements onto it.
Yin and Yang.
Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth.
The energies of the Five Elements swirled and settled into the Sun and Moon Sword.
“Hoo.”
*‘It still needs more refinement… but now that I've engraved the schema of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements into my dantian and my sword, it's as if I have no elemental weaknesses.’*
I sheathed the Sun and Moon Sword.
Before I knew it, the sun had set and night had fallen.
I had been training continuously from dawn until dusk.
I hadn't done anything, yet my clothes were in tatters.
“Now, shall I go meet my senior brothers and sister?”
With a pleasant smile, I was already approaching the pinnacle of demonic arts.
***
I washed up and changed into clean clothes. Looking in the mirror, I saw my hair had grown quite a bit, a side effect of my body's structure changing. I neatly trimmed my waist-length hair and closed my eyes.
The banquet with my senior brothers and sister is being held at the Flame Demon Palace.
*‘Cheon-hyang's location is… the Valley of Blood Tears.’*
It was a path one had to pass through to get from the Heavenly Dance Family to the Flame Demon Palace. The other routes were inconvenient, with rugged mountain terrain and poor maintenance.
*‘So they've set a trap there. The place where those who rebelled against the Cult Leader were buried… is it? The Heavenly Demonic Corpse's location is… watching Cheon-hyang from about two ri away from the Valley of Blood Tears.’*
“Alright.”
Just then, a servant came and said.
“Young Master, the Flame Demon has sent someone.”
“Oh?”
Someone sent by the Flame Demon? Ah, he did say he would send someone. A guide? I went out immediately and warmly greeted the person sent by the Flame Demon.
“Greetings. I am Baek Mu-heun.”
“Greetings. I am Chu Mu-yeol, sent by Lord Flame Demon.”
“A pleasure to meet you.”
“Lord Flame Demon was concerned that you might get lost, as this is your first time coming to the Flame Demon Palace. So I have come to guide you.”
“Haha, I must thank my senior brother for his consideration. Let's be on our way, then.”
“Yes. Please follow me.”
Sending a guide when it wasn't necessary seemed to have another ulterior motive besides avoiding suspicion.
*‘It means they don't want me taking any other path.’*
“Given the hour, we will proceed using swift arts.”
“Of course. As a junior brother, I cannot be late.”
“...Then, let us depart.”
Chu Mu-yeol unfolded his swift arts and moved at a high speed, and I followed leisurely with my hands behind my back.
Thus, I followed Chu Mu-yeol towards the Flame Demon Palace. I brought not a single guard.
Beneath the bright moonlight, only the shadows of two people rushing into the tiger's den cut across the forest path.